The present invention relates to systems, computer program products and computer implemented methods for controlling the distribution of knowledge, such as problem resolution knowledge.
Conventional enterprise computing systems are becoming complex, often integrating numerous computer platforms, devices and technologies. However, this complexity renders such computer enterprises susceptible to a variety of problems in both hardware and software that can be time-consuming and often difficult to diagnose and correct. For example, in a typical diagnosis operation, a systems analyst may have to sort through an overwhelming amount of data available in the form of event log files, configuration files and other information, to identify clues as to the root cause of an existing problem. The problem diagnosis is thus heavily dependent upon the skill, knowledge and training of the systems analyst to correlate the available data and to identify causal relationships buried within this data. Moreover, relationships among critical information in the event data can be counter-intuitive and distributed across one or more information sources, which themselves may be unrelated. Still further, a combination of multiple events recorded in the information sources may reveal more complex problems in the enterprise computing system. However, it may be difficult for a systems analyst who is focused on a particular problem to recognize the symptoms of the more complex problem. Accordingly, troubleshooting becomes a hard and cumbersome task.
Moreover, it can be difficult and problematic to control the distribution of problem resolution knowledge. For example, many businesses do not comprise the expert knowledge required to efficiently troubleshoot problems. Rather, responses may be limited to problem management, such as by obtaining problem resolution knowledge from third party business partners. However, bandwidth and/or time concerns may make the exchange of necessary information between the business partners impractical. Additionally, the business partner possessing the problem resolution knowledge may want to avoid the disclosure of problem knowledge that is not relevant to the issue at hand. Even an enterprise that possesses suitable problem resolution knowledge may find it difficult to manage the distribution of such relevant knowledge to effect problem solutions due to bandwidth and time constrains imposed by the infrastructure of that enterprise.